The present invention generally refers to hypodermic syringe needles for medical use. More particularly, the invention relates to hypodermic safety needles which retract into a container when not in use, preventing unintentional contact with the needle.
Prior art injection needles feature hollow needles which extend through a plastic hub. To prevent a user from accidentally pricking himself with the point of a needle, the needle is covered with a removable cover. Such covers frictionally engage the plastic hub, and may be readily removed once the needle is attached to a syringe barrel. After use, the cover may be reattached to the needle assembly, which is then separated from the syringe barrel and discarded. However, there is an unacceptable risk of accidental injury resulting from contact with the point of the needle during the recapping step. This is particularly dangerous as biological fluids contaminating the needle could enter the user""s bloodstream. An improved means of covering a used injection needle is needed.
A wide variety of needles having a means for shielding a syringe needle from accidental contact with a user""s fingers have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,311, xe2x80x9cHypodermic Syringexe2x80x9d, issued to Stem on Feb. 13, 1990, relates to a hypodermic syringe having a syringe barrel, an injection needle attached to the syringe barrel, and a needle guard of elliptical cross section disposed around the syringe barrel. The needle guard may be moved from a first position which covers the needle to a second position which exposes the needle. When the guard is in the second position, tabs on the interior of the guard engage slots on the syringe barrel, locking the guard into position. When the tabs are released from the slots by squeezing the elliptical guard along its longitudinal axis, a spring causes the guard to move into the first position, hiding the needle. The entire syringe assembly is then discarded.
This device, while useful, does have certain drawbacks. The syringe barrel used with this assembly has a highly specialized structure; a generic syringe barrel cannot readily be substituted. Also, the syringe barrel cannot readily be sterilized and reused. No provision for separation of the needle from the syringe barrel without removing the syringe needle from the protective needle guard is provided. Finally, there is the risk of accidentally squeezing the elliptical needle guard, causing the spring to move the needle guard into a position which conceals the needle prior to use of the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,654, xe2x80x9cAutomatic protracting and locking hypodermic needle guardxe2x80x9d, issued to Strauss on May 12, 1987, relates to a two-piece needle shield comprising a sliding member and a stationary member. A latch holds the sliding member in position. When the latch is released, a spring causes the sliding member to retract inside the stationary member, exposing the needle. However, this device causes the user to place his hand in proximity to the needle at the time it is exposed, increasing the likelihood of injury from accidental contact with the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,428, xe2x80x9cNeedle Safety Mechanismxe2x80x9d, issued to Falknor on Sept. 21, 1993, relates to a needle safety mechanism comprising a base adapted to be fixed with respect to the needle, and a sheath which is movable between a first position which exposes the needle and a second position which covers the needle. A latch cooperative between the base and the sheath may be used to releasably latch the sheath in the position which covers the needle. A spring biases the sheath into the needle covering position. No mechanism for latching the sheath in a position which exposes the needle is provided, however. This may be an inconvenience for workers who wish to see the precise spot where they are administering an injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,579, xe2x80x9cSelf-recapping Injection Needle Assemblyxe2x80x9d, issued to D""Amico on Jan. 18, 1994, relates to a self-capping injection needle assembly which includes a hub slidably positioned within a cylindrical cover adapted to receive a syringe barrel, and a needle mounted on the hub. A spring biases the hub into a position in which the needle is contained within the tubular cover. When the spring is compressed, the hub may slide into a position which exposes the needle. The hub includes a pin which slidably engages a longitudinal groove in the tubular cover. The groove includes a transverse leg adapted to receive the pin. When the pin is positioned in the transverse leg, the hub is releasably locked into a position which exposes the needle. The hub has a threaded female joint which may be screwed onto a syringe barrel having a corresponded threaded male joint. Different size tubular covers may be used for different size syringe barrels.
This device has certain disadvantages. First, in a medical environment time is often a critical factor. A more rapid method of affixing a needle to a syringe barrel than screwing it on is desirable. Also, only syringe barrels with a specific type of joint adapted to mate with the hub are usable with this device. Most commonly used medical syringe barrels have frusto-conical tips which frictionally engage syringe needle hubs having frusto-conical cavities therein; such commonly used barrels cannot be used with the threaded connections envisioned by D""Amico. D""Amico requires that a hub having a specific diameter must be used with a tubular cover having an inner diameter which is substantially equal to the hub diameter. Most commonly available syringe needle hubs have a single standard size, and cannot be used with a range of tubular cover sizes. Therefore, D""Amico""s invention necessitates creation of a range of expensive and specialized syringe needles having a range of hub sizes. Also, since the diameter of D""Amico""s hub is very nearly equal to the interior diameter of the tubular cover, it is difficult to insert a hub having a protruding pin into the cover. An easy method of assembling such a device is desirable.
There is a long-felt need in the art for a safety needle assembly having a retractable needle which may be easily assembled, and which may be used with commonly available syringe barrels having frusto-conical tips which frictionally engage a syringe needle assembly. The required safety needle assembly must also avoid the other disadvantages of known prior art devices. It is an object of this invention to provide such a safety needle assembly.
The present invention provides a disposable hypodermic syringe needle which retracts into a container for safe disposal. The retractable needle assembly comprises:
a needle assembly, said needle assembly comprising a hub having an anterior end and a posterior end, a hollow needle passing through the hub and projecting from the posterior end of the hub; and a tubular sleeve connected with a peripheral edge of the hub and projecting from the anterior end of the hub, said sleeve having a radially directed hole therethrough; and
a tubular sheath having a wall with a radially directed hole therethrough, an anterior end, and a posterior end, said posterior end having an opening therethrough. The needle assembly is positioned within the tubular sheath with the hollow needle being directed toward the opening in the posterior end of the sheath. The needle assembly may be moved reversibly along the axis of the sheath between an exposed position in which the hollow needle passes through the opening in the posterior end of the sheath and a retracted position in which the hollow needle is contained within the tubular sheath. The retractable needle assembly further comprises a plurality of locking mechanisms, each designed to lock the needle assembly into a specified position. The needle assembly comprises a means for reversibly locking the needle assembly in its exposed position; a means for reversibly locking the needle assembly in its retracted position; and a means for permanently locking the needle assembly in its retracted position. In one embodiment, the permanent locking means comprises a radially-directed peg mounted on an exterior surface of the tubular sheath so that one end of the radially-directed peg is adapted to be pushed inwardly through the hole in the wall of the tubular sheath and through the hole in the tubular sleeve. This end of the radially-directed peg may not be withdrawn through the hole in the tubular sleeve after it has been pushed through the hole in the tubular sleeve. Other embodiments of the permanent locking means are also feasible.
Preferably, the tubular sheath or container features a tubular wall having a longitudinal slot therethrough. One end of the container is open so that a syringe barrel may be received therein. The second, or posterior, end of the container has an opening which is sufficiently large to allow a hypodermic needle to pass therethrough, but is too small to allow the hub or a syringe barrel to pass therethrough. A spring may engage the hub of the needle assembly and a ridge on the interior of the wall of the second end of the container. This spring biases the hub away from the second end of the container so that the needle attached to the hub is hidden within the container. When the spring is compressed, the needle is able to pass through the opening of the posterior end of the container. A pin attached to the annular sleeve is slidably engaged by the longitudinal slot in the container wall, holding the needle within the container while allowing it to slide back and forth. A knob mounted on the pin is positioned outside the container. The knob is too large to pass through the longitudinal slot, and acts to position the hub of the needle along the axis of the container. When the knob is pushed toward the second end of the container, the hub moves toward the second end of the container, compressing the spring and causing the needle to emerge through the second open end of the container. A means for reversibly engaging the knob when the spring is compressed is also provided. This allows the needle to be retained in an exposed position.
The needle may be frictionally secured to a syringe barrel having a plunger slidably mounted therein. More specifically, a syringe barrel having a tip is secured to the needle assembly by inserting the tip of the syringe barrel into the cavity of the annular sleeve until the barrel tip is frictionally secured to the barrel sleeve. Additional features of the invention will be described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. Any syringe barrel having an appropriately shaped tip may be used with the inventive needle assembly.
Other embodiments of this invention are contemplated. The needle assembly of this invention may be attached to an IV tube and used for intravenous administration of fluids. Also, a modified needle assembly having a double-ended hypodermic needle that is affixed to a hub may be used to withdraw samples of venous blood.